Anger & aggression management in young adolescents: an experimental validation of the SCARE program.

Anger & aggression management in young adolescents: an experimental validation of the SCARE program. Abstract This study examined the internal validity Internal validity is a form of experimental validity [1]. An experiment is said to possess internal validity if it properly demonstrates a causal relation between two variables [2] [3]. of the SCARE program; aneclectic anger and aggression management program that was developed incollaboration with high school students. Young adolescents at-risk foranger and aggression related problems were randomly assigned intotreatment conditions (experimental versus control). Pre and postmeasures were collected across multiple modalities, and were assessed byway of a multivariate experimental design. Individual's exposed tothe SCARE program reflected significantly lower levels of anger andaggression, and a slightly (although not significantly) higher level ofanger control. 1 year follow-up data showed that students exposed toSCARE continued to reflect significantly lower scores on a measure ofaggressive and violent attitudes. These results support the efficacy ofthe SCARE program, suggesting it is a useful prevention and interventiontool for addressing violence and aggression in young people. ********** Over the last several decades violence has steadily increased amongour nation's youth despite recent reports suggesting the opposite.While it is true that the overall rate of violent crime in the U.S. hasdeclined in recent years (United States Department of Justice “Justice Department” redirects here. For other uses, see Department of Justice.The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States [USDOJ USDOJ United States Department of Justice ],2001), and crime in U.S. schools has consistently dropped over the last7 years (United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education (also referred to as ED, for Education Department) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. Created by the Department of Education Organization Act (Public Law 96-88), it began operating in 1980. [USDOE USDOE United States Department of EducationUSDOE United States Department Of Energy ], 2000); the trendregarding juvenile violence over the past several decades tells adramatically different story. Despite the highly publicized recentreductions, the arrest rate for violent juvenile crime between 1967 and1997 actually increased by 143 percent (USDOJ, 1998). Additionally, from1960 through 1991 the U.S. population increased by only 40 percent, yetduring this time period violent crime increased by 500 percent; murdersby 170 percent, and aggravated ag��gra��vate?tr.v. ag��gra��vat��ed, ag��gra��vat��ing, ag��gra��vates1. To make worse or more troublesome.2. To rouse to exasperation or anger; provoke. See Synonyms at annoy. assaults by 600 percent (Grossman andDeGaetano, 1999). Much like analyzing the stock market, one must stepback and analyze the global trends rather than the temporal fluctuationsif one is to gain a true understanding of a phenomena underconsideration. In addition to statistical figures, today one has to look nofurther than a local edition of a community newspaper to realize theextent to which violence has infiltrated our children's lives, andconsequently the public and private schools they attend. The massstudent killings at Columbine High School Columbine High School is a secondary school in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado. The school is located at 6201 South Pierce Street, one mile west of the Littleton city limits and half a mile south of the Denver city/county line. in Littleton, Colorado The City of Littleton is a home rule municipality located in the Denver Metropolitan Area of the State of Colorado. As of 2005, the city is estimated to have a total population of 40,396.[1] Littleton is the 17th most populous city in the State of Colorado. havebeen reported as the deadliest school massacre in our nation'shistory. Additionally, in 1998 alone, five separate and highlypublicized violent incidents occurred on school campuses in Jonesboro,Arkansas; Edinboro, Pennsylvania; Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States, separated from Eugene, Oregon primarily by the I-5 highway. Springfield was named after a natural spring located in a field or prairie within the current city boundaries. ; Pearl,Mississippi Pearl is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 21,961 at the 2000 census.Today, Pearl is a growing community across the Pearl River from Jackson. It is Mississippi's 13th largest city and the largest city in Rankin County. ; and Paducah, Kentucky Paducah is a city in McCracken County, Kentucky at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River. The population was 26,307 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McCracken County. . A report from the National SchoolSafety Center (2001) provides even more grim evidence, reporting that321 school-associated violent deaths occurred in the United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. from1992 through 2001. Thus, while a certain degree of comfort can be foundin the fact that crime and violence have indeed decreased in recentyears (USDOE, 2000; USDOJ, 2001), considerable evidence remainssuggesting that juvenile violence and aggression remain pervasivesocietal problems. The SCARE Program In response to a growing national concern regarding youth violence,a variety of strategies have been developed which attempt to stem thetide Stem The TideAn attempt to stop a prevailing trend. Sometimes referred to as "stop the bleeding."Notes:If a stock is continually falling, stemming the tide would be an attempt to halt the free fall and change its direction.See also: Reversal, Trend of violent and aggressive acts (Conduct Problems PreventionResearch Group, 1992; Corder, Whiteside, & Haizlip, 1986; Hains& Ellmann, 1994; Tremblay, Masse, Pagani & Vitaro, 1996; Wilcox& Dowrick, 1992). Fewer programs, however, have been directed at theroots of aggressive, antisocial antisocial/an��ti��so��cial/ (-so��sh'l)1. denoting behavior that violates the rights of others, societal mores, or the law.2. denoting the specific personality traits seen in antisocial personality disorder. and violent behavior beginning in latechildhood and early adolescence. One exception is the Student CreatedAggression Replacement Education (SCARE) program (Herrmann &McWhirter, 1994, 2001). The SCARE program was developed to focusexclusively on violence and aggression beginning in late childhood andearly adolescence because a growing body of literature has consistentlyindicated that these years can be critical to a young person'ssocial development. For example, boys who start criminal careers inearly adolescence or late childhood have been found to be at greatestrisk for becoming chronic offenders (Farrington, 1983: Loeber, 1982),and boys first arrested between 10 and 12 years of age average twice asmany convictions in later life as those who are first arrested at moreadvanced ages (Farrington, Gallagher, Morley, St. Ledger, & West,1986). Additionally, almost half of all violent crimes are committed byyoung males, who make up only 8% of the population (Steiner and Stone,1999). Because early adolescence is potentially one of the best timesfor prevention and intervention programs targeting at-risk youth, theSCARE program was constructed specifically with this age group in mind.Additionally, because a review of the literature revealed a lack ofaggression replacement and anger management packages available toteachers, counselors, psychologists and other youth workers for this agegroup (McWhirter, Herrmann, Jefferys, & Quinn, 1997), the SCAREprogram was constructed for broad scale implementation by suchindividuals. Of importance, a critical distinction that sets the SCARE programapart from other prevention and intervention efforts is that the SCAREprogram was developed in conjunction with advice and suggestions offeredby students themselves whose lives have increasingly become affected byviolence. In short, most people would agree that students represent thecentral focus of the educational system in the United States, and thatstudents themselves can be an important source for helping schools meettheir various objectives (McWhirter, McWhirter, McWhirter &McWhirter, 1998). Unlike educators and administrators, however, studentsare different kinds of experts within school settings. They observedifferent behaviors and realities than their teachers and other adultsbecause they themselves are involved in formal and informal interactionsas witnesses, initiators or targets. Asking students how to reduceviolence in their schools can therefore be an important diagnostic toolin finding possible solutions to the problem of school violence. Thus,in the spring of 1994, Phoenix area high school students werespecifically asked to focus on the question "How can we decreaseviolence in our schools?" as part of a city-wide essay contest.Prudential Securities thereafter provided a grant to the City ofPhoenix, and subsequently to Arizona State University Arizona State University,at Tempe; coeducational; opened 1886 as a normal school, became 1925 Tempe State Teachers College, renamed 1945 Arizona State College at Tempe. Its present name was adopted in 1958. , to develop anddisseminate a violence reduction program that was based in part on thesestudent essays. A university based research team was thus constructed inorder to content analyze student essays, and to identify any causes orpotential solutions to violence offered by the students. Contentanalysis specifically sought to identify not only common themes thatfrequently reemerged across student essays, but also to identify novelideas or insights that appeared in isolation. While special attentionwas paid to the 14 prize winning essays (which were independently judgedand awarded by school district officials), all submitted essays werereviewed and analyzed by the university research team. Although some ofthe solutions offered by students were not applicable for a variety ofreasons, many were concrete and useful, and all were thought provoking.This unique "needs assessment" was thus utilized as the basisfrom which to construct an original prevention and intervention programwhich subsequently became known as the SCARE program. While the SCARE program was developed in conjunction with theadvice and suggestions offered by students, it was not developed solelyfrom student input alone. Rather, the SCARE program was developed as ablended approach that combines student input with what an empiricalliterature review revealed are "best practices" for reducingviolence and aggression in children (McWhirter et al., 1997).Specifically, where content analysis of student essays revealed aspecific cause or solution to violence that was judged to have merit,the research team turned to the "best practices" literature todetermine if a particular therapeutic technique or method existed foraddressing the identified area. In those cases where no therapeutictechniques or method existed for addressing an identified area, theresearch team sought to develop one. Readers interested in learning moredetails about the early development of the SCARE program are directed toMcWhirter et al. (1997), and Herrmann and McWhirter (2001). Theoretical Position Attribution theorists propose that negative actions perceived asintentional often elicit anger, and anger in turn functions as amotivator of hostile behavior (Graham, Hudley, & Williams, 1992).Consistent with this notion, the SCARE program adopts the perspectivethat the reattribution of perceived offenses and the control andmanagement of resulting anger are of prime importance in preventingviolent and aggressive acts from occurring (Lore & Schultz, 1993).In recent years empirical evidence has linked high levels of anger to anumber of negative social consequences, including an increasedpropensity to cause physical damage to oneself and others, increasedpsychological problems, and school related problems (Deffenbacher,Lynch, Oetting, & Kemper, 1996; Leonard & Blane, 1992; Pan,Neidig, & O'leary, 1994). Because the literature has alsoindicated anger can be effectively reduced through therapeuticintervention (Achmon, Granek, Golomb, & Hart, 1989; Deffenbacher,McNamara, Stark & Sabadell, 1990; Moon & Eisler, 1983; Novoco,1975; Schlichter & Horan, 1981), the SCARE program was constructedas a meta-theoretical treatment package focusing on anger management andcoping skills for adolescents and young adults. Primary objectivesembraced by the SCARE program include (a) teaching young people aboutemotions, including aggression and anger, (b) helping young peoplerecognize alternatives to violent behavior and aggressive responses, and(c) encouraging young people to make good decisions in response toprovocative situations. The program involves a total of 15 differentsessions which are clustered into 3 distinct yet related sections: (a)Recognizing anger and violence in the community, (b) Managing andreducing self-expressions of anger, and (c) Defusing anger and violencein others. In Recognizing anger and violence in the community, primaryobjectives include (a) providing a clear definition of anger andviolence, and (b) introducing the topic of anger and violence in such away that promotes intrigue and interest for acquiring anger managementand coping skills. Pedagogical ped��a��gog��ic? also ped��a��gog��i��caladj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy.2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. observation suggests that learning isfacilitated among youth who have cultivated an interest for a particularsubject, and who feel that the material presented to them is relevant totheir lives. By combining national statistics with descriptive imagesobtained from popular media resources, this section aims to stimulatemotivation for learning anger reduction skills, and cultivates anawareness that such skills are vitally important to all adolescents. The second section, Managing and reducing anger in the self, wasdeveloped to inform at-risk youth about effective prosocial strategiesfor managing their own aggressive impulses and feelings of anger. Thissection is based on Novaco's (1975, 1979) adaptation ofMichenbaum's (1972) stress inoculation inoculation,in medicine, introduction of a preparation into the tissues or fluids of the body for the purpose of preventing or curing certain diseases. The preparation is usually a weakened culture of the agent causing the disease, as in vaccination against model, which refers to thetherapeutic process of learning to manage and respond to stressful lifeevents before a significant stressful event is encountered, andtypically consists of three separate phases: (a) education and cognitivepreparation, (b) skill acquisition, and (c) application training.Education and cognitive preparation provides youths with informationabout the cognitive, physiological, and behavioral interactions of angerarousal. They learn about internal triggers that can provoke anger, andsteps they can take to effectively manage their expression of anger.Skill acquisition consists of training adolescents incognitive-behavioral coping skills to effectively manage situationsinvolving anger and aggression. Application training consists ofpracticing newly acquired skills within the context of experientialgroup sessions or role plays until such skills are mastered. In studiesassessing the efficacy of this model, Novaco (1975, 1979) reportsevidence in support of stress inoculation training for reducing anger,while others have reported the effectiveness of this model withadolescent populations (Hains & Ellmann, 1994; Schlichter and Horan,1981; Wilcox & Dowrick, 1992). Finally, the third section, Defusing anger and violence in othersdraws upon an eclectic model involving skills and techniques for (a)preventing situations involving anger and violence from developing, and(b) promoting peaceful resolutions to hostile situations which havedeveloped. This section was specifically developed to give students whoare not routinely at-risk for violence and aggression a set of toolsthat will enable them to manage and defuse de��fuse?tr.v. de��fused, de��fus��ing, de��fus��es1. To remove the fuse from (an explosive device).2. To make less dangerous, tense, or hostile: the hostile intentions ofothers. In reviewing student essays regarding violence prevention, ourresearch team quickly discovered that many students did not feel thatthey themselves had a problem with anger or violence, but rather thesestudents still felt at-risk because of the violent temperament of one oftheir classmates. Thus, in order to help these students defusepotentially hostile situations in as many different ways as possible,this section is not grounded in any one theoretical orientation, butrather is eclectic in nature and combines techniques from differentschools of thought. In a review of the treatment literature, Greenwood(1994) notes that multi-modal approaches that combine several treatmentmodalities (e.g., cognitive skills, relaxation skills, social skillstraining) are usually more efficacious ef��fi��ca��cious?adj.Producing or capable of producing a desired effect. See Synonyms at effective.[From Latin effic than unimodal Adj. 1. unimodal - having a single modestatistics - a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters approaches. Corder,Whitehead, and Haizlip (1986) additionally report that multi-modalapproaches are of special value when treating behaviorally disorderedand "acting-out" youth. As such, several sessions have beendeveloped in the Defusing anger and violence in others section that drawupon diverse yet complementary theoretical approaches, includingsessions on verbal and paraverbal techniques, body language training(proxemics prox��e��mics?n. (used with a sing. verb)The study of the cultural, behavioral, and sociological aspects of spatial distances between individuals. and kinesics kinesics:see body language. ), identifying creative alternatives to violence,diversity appreciation training, and no-violence contracting. (See Table1 for a brief description of each of the 15 SCARE sessions). Purpose of the Study While reports gathered from teachers, administrators, counselors,and psychologists who have used the SCARE program have been uniformlypositive and enthusiastic, controlled and scientific outcome research isnecessary before the effectiveness of any program can be established andvalidated. As such, various research studies and initiatives have beendesigned and employed to empirically scrutinize scru��ti��nize?tr.v. scru��ti��nized, scru��ti��niz��ing, scru��ti��niz��esTo examine or observe with great care; inspect critically.scru the SCARE program, todetermine its ability to reduce anger and aggression in young people,and to determine if the program helps children and adolescents makehealthy choices in response to hostile and provocative situations. While space limitations prevent us from summarizing the body ofrelevant research which has examined the SCARE program'seffectiveness, the present study highlights one of the mostcomprehensive investigations to date which has explored the relativemerits of the SCARE program in an applied educational setting involvingat-risk students. The general empirical question addressed in thisinvestigation was: "In what ways do adolescents who have completed the SCARE program differ from other adolescents in terms of anger and aggression levels?" Method Participants A sample of seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students who wereidentified as academically and behaviorally at-risk participated in thisstudy during the 1999-2000 academic year. Participants were recruitedfrom two "alternative" middle schools in central Arizona. Bothschools were comprised exclusively of students with various histories ofacademic, behavioral and disciplinary problems, and both school siteswere considered "last chance" options for students who werenot succeeding in their traditional school setting. By virtue of theirenrollment in these non-traditional schools, all participants could beidentified as "at-risk" according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. Sugai, Sprague, Hornerand Walker's (2000) continuum of violent and destructive behaviors(see Figure 1). As noted by these authors, at-risk students on theircontinuum are thought to represent approximately 5 to 15% of allschool-aged students, are known to be susceptible to behavioral anddisciplinary problems, but do not yet meet the criteria for chronic orintensive problem behavior. At-risk students are also thought to be inneed of secondary prevention efforts that attempt to prevent thedevelopment and escalation of problem behavior, while those with moreintensive and chronic difficulties are thought to require morespecialized and individualized in��di��vid��u��al��ize?tr.v. in��di��vid��u��al��ized, in��di��vid��u��al��iz��ing, in��di��vid��u��al��iz��es1. To give individuality to.2. To consider or treat individually; particularize.3. interventions (Sugai et al., 2000).Because the SCARE program was specifically developed with the at-riskadolescent in mind, students from these two school sites werespecifically recruited to represent an at-risk sample for the presentstudy. Accordingly, 207 students (149 males and 58 females) wererandomly selected from these two schools for participation in thisstudy. There were 58 seventh graders, 106 eighth graders, and 43 ninthgraders. While specific information regarding the ethnic composition ofthe sample was not available through school district resources, thesample was roughly comprised of 50% Hispanic, 40% Anglo, 5%African-American, and 5% other ethnic background students. Specialeducation students and monolingual mon��o��lin��gual?adj.Using or knowing only one language.mono��lin Spanish speaking students were notincluded in this investigation due to limited program resources. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Trainers Twenty-four graduate students from the Counseling (masters) andCounseling Psychology Counseling psychology as a psychological specialty facilitates personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span with a focus on emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns. (doctoral) programs at a local universityparticipated as trainers. Twelve trainers were assigned to teach theSCARE curriculum (experimental group), while 12 were assigned to teachthe Enter Here vocational education curriculum (control group). Tofacilitate program administration, clusters of 2 to 3 trainers wereassigned to work with each group of 10 to 25 students. Attempts weremade to balance both male and female trainers across conditions, but dueto scheduling constraints the experimental condition wasdisproportionately represented by female trainers. Measures The measures used in this study are clustered into two distinct yettheoretically related categories: anger and aggression. To thoroughlyevaluate each of these constructs, multiple modalities of assessmentwere utilized where possible, including measures of self-report, globalratings by others, and behavioral assessment techniques. See Table 2 fora summary of the various anger and aggression measures used in thisstudy, as well as the type of modality modality/mo��dal��i��ty/ (mo-dal��i-te)1. a method of application of, or the employment of, any therapeutic agent, especially a physical agent.2. assessed by each. State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI STAXI State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory ) The STAXI (Speilberger, 1996a) is a self-report measure assessingthe experience and expression of anger which is conceptualized as havingtwo major components; State-Anger and Trait-Anger. State-Anger refers tosubjective feelings of anger that can vary in intensity over time.Trait-Anger, on the other hand, is defined as dispositional anger to awide array of annoying or frustrating frus��trate?tr.v. frus��trat��ed, frus��trat��ing, frus��trates1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: situations. The overall STAXIconsists of 44 items which form six specific scales. For the purpose ofthis study, three scales were deemed pertinent: State-Anger (theintensity of anger at a given time - 10 items), Trait-Anger (howchronically or dispositionally angry the individual is - 20 items), andAnger-Control (the frequency to which an individual attempts to controlthe expression of anger - 8 items). In responding to individual testitems, individuals rate themselves on a four-point continuum thatassesses either the intensity of their angry feelings or the frequencythat anger is experienced, expressed, or controlled. The STAXI isdesigned to measure anger experience and expressions for individualsranging from adolescent to adult, with a minimum fifth-grade readingability required to complete the instrument. Raw scores for the variousSTAXI subscales are converted to standard scores, with higher scoresgenerally reflecting more intense anger expressions or experiences (withthe exception of the Anger-Control scale, with higher scores reflectinggreater control of anger). With regard to reliability and validity,alpha coefficients have been reported for both sexes at .87 and .93 forState and Trait-Anger, respectively. Validity has been estimated bycorrelating the STAXI with the Buss-Durke Hostility Inventory (Buss& Durke,1957) and the hostility and overt hostility scales of theMinnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)DefinitionThe Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2; MMPI-A) is a written psychological assessment, or test, used to diagnose mental disorders. (Hathaway & McKinley,1942). Significant correlations ranged from .27 to .71. Significantcorrelations have also been reported between the Anger-Expression scale(composite index Composite IndexA grouping of equities, indexes or other factors combined in a standardized way, providing a useful statistical measure of overall market or sector performance over time. Also known simply as a "composite". ) of the STAXI and other anger and personality measures(Speilberger, 1996b), providing additional evidence of its validity. Ina recent review of the instrument, Feindler (1995) describes the STAXIas a "short and easy-to-use instrument", and noted that it isa "good choice, especially for adolescents" (p. 179). Missouri Peer Relations Inventory (MPRI MPRI Military Professional Resources Inc.MPRI Midwest Proton Radiotherapy InstituteMPRI Mannose 6-Phosphate Receptor, Cation-IndependentMPRI Multiphoton Resonance Ionization ) The Aggression subscale of the MPRI (Borduin, Blaske, Treloar,& Mann, 1989) assesses parental, teacher, and youth perceptions ofaggression in adolescent peer relationships. Form C of the MPRI isintended to be completed by the adolescent or child, while Form P/T isdesigned to be completed by either a parent or teacher. Both forms ofthe MPRI were adopted for use in the present study, with form P/T beingcompleted by parent(s), and form C being completed by the child. Bothversions of the MPRI Aggressive subscale include five items that requirerespondents to rate adolescent social behaviors and characteristicsalong a 5-point Likert-type scale. Total scores can range from 5 to 25(one item is reverse scored), with higher scores reflecting moreaggressive peer relations. The MPRI was validated on 212 adolescents, their mothers, andteachers; and factor analysis confirmed the theoretical dimensions ofthe instrument. With regard to reliability, Cronbach alphas for theAggression subscale have been reported at .65 and .69 for mother andteacher ratings over a two week period respectively (Blaske et al.,1989). Test-retest reliability coefficients for the Aggression subscalehas been reported at .76 and .72 for mother and teacher ratingsrespectively (Blaske et al, 1989). With regard to construct validity construct validity,n the degree to which an experimentally-determined definition matches the theoretical definition. ,the MPRI has found moderate support for its constructs in studiesinvolving juvenile offenders and delinquents (Blaske et al., 1989; Lyon,Henggeler, & Hall, 1992) as well as hearing-impaired adolescents(Henggeler, Watson, & Whelan, 1990). While the MPRI instrumentappears to hold promise as a research scale and clinical instrument, itshould be noted that this scale has only a limited amount of reliabilityand validity data supporting its claims at the present time. As such,this instrument should only be viewed as an experimental scale in thepresent study. Attitude Towards Guns & Violence Questionnaire (AGVQ) The AGVQ (Shapiro, Dorman, Burkey, Welker, & Clough, 1997) is ameasure of aggression and violence-related attitudes for youths aged 8to 18, and is designed specifically to assess how young people feelabout guns and violence. Principal component factor analysis performedby the authors revealed four major factors: (a) Excitement, (b)Power/Safety; (c) Comfort with Aggression, and (d) Aggressive Responseto Shame (Shapiro et al., 1997). Only the "Aggressive Response toShame" subscale was selected for use in the present study becauseit was judged as having the most salience sa��li��ence? also sa��li��en��cyn. pl. sa��li��en��ces also sa��li��en��cies1. The quality or condition of being salient.2. A pronounced feature or part; a highlight.Noun 1. for our population ofstudents. That is, this subscale was selected because it assesses a twopart dynamic of (a) sensitivity to disrespect from others, and (b) thebelief that violence repairs damage to self esteem. Individuals withhigh scores on this subscale have been found to believe that fighting iseither the best or only way to recover pride following the experience ofshame (Shapiro, 2000). Similar descriptions in thinking have been foundin men incarcerated incarcerated/in��car��cer��at��ed/ (in-kahr��ser-at?ed) imprisoned; constricted; subjected to incarceration. in��car��cer��at��edadj.Confined or trapped, as a hernia. for violent crimes (Katz, 1988) as well as men witha history of spouse battering (Gelles & Straus, 1988). Because suchthinking represents a core belief that the SCARE program attempts toundo, the Aggressive Response to Shame subscale was judged as beinghighly pertinent for the purpose of this study. While the total AGVQ consists of 61 items, the Aggressive Responseto Shame Subscale includes only 8 items, with each being a statementrelated to some aspect of violence. The response format is a 3-pointLikert-type scale with anchors of 0 for "disagree", 1 for"not sure", and 2 for "agree" (some items arereverse scored). Given that there are only 8 scale items in theAggressive Response to Shame subscale, total possible scores range from0 to 16. Regarding reliability and validity, the AGVQ was developed on thebasis of research with over 2,000 demographically diverse adolescents.Whole-part correlations calculated between each of the 61 original itemsand total scores on the instrument revealed correlations equal to orgreater than .20 (p < .0001). Such was interpreted by the authors asindicating a "highly satisfactory" level of internalconsistency In statistics and research, internal consistency is a measure based on the correlations between different items on the same test (or the same subscale on a larger test). It measures whether several items that propose to measure the same general construct produce similar scores. for the instrument (Shapiro et al., 1997, p. 314). As previously mentioned, principal components factor analysisperformed on the instrument identified four main factors, together whichaccounted for 46% of the variance (Shapiro et al, 1997). The AggressiveResponse to Shame factor alone accounted for 23% of the variance. With regard to criterion validity The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter.Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. , self-reported gun ownership wasviewed by the authors as a useful variable by which to assess theAGVQ's validity performance. That is, because gun ownership is seenas a violence related behavior that is highly associated with lethality,and also because gun ownership tends to reflect a broader tendencytowards violence proneness; the propensity of owning a gun was viewed bythe authors as a useful validity benchmark by which to judge the AGVQ.Analysis performed (Shapiro et al, 1997) revealed that there weresignificant relations between factor scores of the AGVQ andself-reported gun ownership: For Aggressive Response to Shame t (1156) =6.36, p < .0001; for Comfort with Aggression, t = 7.58, p < .0001;for Excitement, t = 6.86, p < .0001; and for Power/Safety, t = 3.77,p < .0005. Moreover, gun owners as a whole were found to have ahigher average AGVQ score (M = 25.89) compared to nonowners of guns (M =13.15) (Shapiro et al., 1997). These findings were offered together bythe authors as support of AGVQ's criterion related validity.However, while this instrument also appears promising as a researchscale and clinical instrument, it should only be viewed as anexperimental scale at the present time because of limited reliabilityand validity information. Behavioral Measure of Aggression Disciplinary records maintained by the school sites where thisstudy was conducted constituted this study's behavioral measure ofaggression. Such detention / referral records reflected theadolescent's name, specific reason for referral (e.g., fighting,threats, noncompliance, etc), date of occurrence, sanctions imposed, andother specific information. Such records were thought to provide a goodsource of unobtrusive behavioral measurement that is not subject toreactivity on the part of either the adolescent or referring agent(i.e., teachers or staff). As such, individual disciplinary records wereanalyzed and summed for each adolescent both pre- and post-treatment for40 school-days. Only records of aggressive behavior were included inthis summary; disciplinary records for non-aggressive acts (e.g.,tardies, uniform violations, etc.) were not included in summed totals.Higher frequency totals were viewed as reflecting greater levels ofaggression. Procedure Design This study employed a pre-post multivariate experimental designwith students being randomly assigned (at the school level) intotreatment conditions. Treatment (SCARE curriculum versus the Enter Herecurriculum) constituted manipulation of the independent variable. Threedistinct yet conceptually related measures constituted this study'sdependent measures of anger (STAXI State-Anger, STAXI Trait-Anger, andSTAXI Anger-Control). Four additionally distinct yet conceptuallyrelated measures constituted this study's dependent measures ofaggression (MPRI-C, MPRI-P, AGVQ, and School Detention / ReferralRecords). Long-term follow-up assessment was also conducted at one-yearfollowing treatment to determine if treatment effects were maintainedover time. Control Condition. The Enter Here (1996) curriculum, a sixteensession video based vocational education program (including instructorled group discussions) was selected as this study's nonspecific nonspecific/non��spe��cif��ic/ (non?spi-sif��ik)1. not due to any single known cause.2. not directed against a particular agent, but rather having a general effect.nonspecific1. treatment control condition. Specifically, each Enter Here video shownincluded a host of age appropriate material regarding vocationaldevelopment within a particular occupation. Each selected video waspreviously screened to have no therapeutic relevance regarding angermanagement or aggression control, and was additionally judged to be voidof emotionally stimulating content. Each video lasted approximately 15to 20 minutes, followed by a 30-40 minute structured group discussion.The total length of each video / discussion session did not exceed 60minutes--the maximum time allotted to complete one session of the SCAREprogram. Treatment Integrity To ensure the integrity of both the experimental and controltreatments and to prevent a "loose protocol effect" (Barber,1976), several steps were taken. First, training sessions were utilizedto ensure that all trainers in both conditions were equally proficientin administration procedure and ability. Training consisted of briefoverviews for each of the SCARE or Enter Here sessions, mock sessionadministrations, and treatment instruction. Second, written trainingprotocols were furnished to both experimental and control treatmentfacilitators. Third, independent observers knowledgeable of theexperimental and control treatment procedures conducted random spotchecks during actual program implementation on approximately 33% of thetotal sessions to ensure uniformity of procedures and adherence to thetreatment protocols. Process A complete battery of pretest pre��test?n.1. a. A preliminary test administered to determine a student's baseline knowledge or preparedness for an educational experience or course of study.b. A test taken for practice.2. measures was collected from studentsat each of the two school sites. Self-report measures were collectedfrom students, and child assessment measures were mailed to theirparents. Detention and disciplinary records were also assessed andsummed for each student during an 8 week period (40 school days)immediately preceding program administration. Following pretest assessment, all students (N = 216) were randomlyassigned at the school level into either the experimental condition(i.e., the SCARE curriculum) or the control condition (i.e., the EnterHere curriculum). Program implementation thereafter ensued for an 8-weekperiod during which time adolescents received either the experimental orcontrol treatment twice weekly for approximately 1 hour each day. At theend of the 8th week a complete battery of post test measures wascollected from all students, and child assessment measures were againmailed out to parents. Detention and disciplinary records were againassessed for the 8-week period (40 school days) following treatment.Reassessment also took place one-year following treatment, but childassessment forms were not mailed out to parents at this time because ofpoor response rate received from earlier mailings. Additionally, becauseof inconsistencies in the way each school site was found to maintaintheir student records, disciplinary records were not included in thelong-term follow-up assessment. Results Exploratory Data Analysis Exploratory Data Analysis - (EDA)[J.W.Tukey, "Exploratory Data Analysis", 1977, Addisson Wesley]. Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA (1) (Electronic Design Automation) Using the computer to design, lay out, verify and simulate the performance of electronic circuits on a chip or printed circuit board. ) refers to a collection oftechniques proposed by Tukey (1977) intended to let the analyst explorethe data set while making only minimal assumptions about it. Behrens andSmith (1996) describe EDA as an "essential step prior to, and inparallel with, confirmatory procedures" (p. 26), and note that"data exploration is an important part of any data analysis."(p. 52). As such, different EDA techniques and visual displays wereutilized in the present study to explore sampling distributions, toferret out anomalies, to assess for differential attrition acrossconditions, and to ensure that statistical assumptions were met prior toperforming confirmatory analyses. The different EDA techniques performedin this study and their intended purpose(s) are briefly described undereach topic heading below: Missing Data Missing data has been reported as one of the most pervasiveproblems in data analysis (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1996), and can beparticularly vexing when it obscures true differences that exist betweengroups. In the present study, there was a fairly substantial amount ofmissing data because the student population in this study was highlytransitory and attrition was great. Consequently, we observed a largenumber of cases where pre-test data had been collected, but was notaccompanied with post test data, and vice-versa. Missing data in thepresent study was dealt with in two phases. First, the entire data setwas assessed by way of frequency distributions and visual spreadsheetanalysis to determine the extent to which missing data plagued the dataset. Because inclusion of such data could severely skew (1) The misalignment of a document or punch card in the feed tray or hopper that prohibits it from being scanned or read properly.(2) In facsimile, the difference in rectangularity between the received and transmitted page. results andprove highly misleading, our initial "data cleaning"procedures involved purging all cases that were not accompanied withboth pre and post test data. As such, our original sample (N = 207) wasreduced considerably (N = 129). The second method employed for handling missing data involvedanalyzing each dependent variable across subjects to assess for missingvalues In statistics, missing values are a common occurrence. Several statistical methods have been developed to deal with this problem. Missing values mean that no data value is stored for the variable in the current observation. within variable sets. As a whole, missing data was scatteredevenly across variables and treatment conditions, with no apparentpatterns or clusters emerging (however, there were large amounts of datamissing from the MPRI-Parent variable because of low response rates). Tomanage the missing data scattered evenly across variables and treatmentconditions, the methodology suggested by Cohen cohenor kohen(Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. and Cohen (1983) ofinserting variable averages was employed. Specifically, in this methodmeans were calculated from available data within each variable and wereused to replace missing values prior to analysis. Tabachnick &Fidell (1996) describe this as a generally conservative procedure formanaging missing data, but note that it can considerably reduce varianceif employed with large amounts of missing data. Nevertheless, becausemissing data was scattered evenly across variables and treatmentconditions in the present study, variance was generally notsignificantly compromised (with the exception of MPRI-P variable). Additional Deletions The deletion of additional cases was also warranted in some casesin order to preserve treatment integrity. Specifically, during randomspot checks of treatment groups, one of the SCARE classrooms (n = 18)was found to have significantly and consistently deviated from theprescribed treatment protocol, and as such was excluded from theanalysis. Additionally, only those students who participated in 10 ormore (approximately two-thirds) of the 16 program sessions, (n = 107),were retained in the final data set in order to prevent the treatmentgroups from becoming "watered down". In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , we feltthat exposure to at least two-thirds of the program lessons was theminimum number necessary for students in the treatment groups to have anadequate representation of the program(s), and thus selected this as ourcut-off point. Thus, after these final two exclusions to the data setwere made, 67 males and 22 females (N = 89) remained. While not nearlyas robust as the original data set, this number of subjects was stilldeemed sufficient to provide adequate power for our planned comparisons.In fact, post-hoc power analysis for our planned multivariatecomparisons of treatment effects ranged from .63 to .72. Generally,power of .70 to .80 is considered ideal for planned comparisons(Stevens, 1996). Multivariate Normality normality,in chemistry: see concentration. Significance tests for MANCOVA MANCOVA Multivariate Analysis of Covariance and other multivariate techniquesare based upon the assumption of multivariate normality which assumesthat sampling distributions of means for the dependent variables arenormally distributed. To assess for such normality, each of thisstudy's dependent measures were assessed by way of constructinghistograms and normal probability plots, and by way of assessing thekurtosis KurtosisA statistical measure used to describe the distribution of observed data around the mean.Notes:Used generally in the statistical field, it describes trends in charts. and skewness SkewnessA statistical term used to describe a situation's asymmetry in relation to a normal distribution.Notes:A positive skew describes a distribution favoring the right tail, whereas a negative skew describes a distribution favoring the left tail. values associated with each distribution. With theexception of two variables (MPRI-P and the Detention Records), allranges were within acceptable limits. However, because of the highnumber of missing cases in the MPRI-P variable, the substitution of meanscore values for missing data (Cohen & Cohen, 1983) resulted in adistribution with very little variance that was highly leptokurtic. Assuch, this variable was excluded from our planned multivaritate analysisand was instead independently analyzed by way of a separate univariatedesign. While the Detention Record variable also deviated from normalitysomewhat, its positive skew was not so much out of alignment that italso warranted exclusion from our design. Mardia (1971) has shown that MANOVA MANOVA Multivariate Analysis of the Variance is robust to modest violations of normality if the violationis created by skewness. As such, no additional steps were taken withthis only moderately skewed skewedcurve of a usually unimodal distribution with one tail drawn out more than the other and the median will lie above or below the mean.skewedEpidemiology adjective Referring to an asymmetrical distribution of a population or of data dependant measure. Multicollinearity, Singularity (1) See technology singularity.(2) (Singularity) An experimental operating system from Microsoft for the x86 platform written almost entirely in C#, a .NET managed code language. Released in 2007, Singularity is a non-Windows research project. and Linearity Finally, multicollinearity and singularity refer to the assumptionthat dependent variables are expected to be only weakly or moderatelyassociated with one another so as to not contribute redundantinformation. Redundancy was determined by way of assessing the degree ofrelationship between variables and by reviewing within cell correlationmatrices. R2 values approaching .90 are thought to reflect redundancy(Tabichnick & Fidell, 1996). Correlation values for the dependentanger measures ranged from -.26 to .60, and from .23 to .57 for thedependent aggression measures. As such, no r2 value came close toexceeding the .90 cut-off, with observed values suggesting only weak tomoderate correlations between each set of measures. With regard tolinearity, scatter plots were examined among each cluster of dependentmeasures, and no significant deviations or curvilinear curvilineara line appearing as a curve; nonlinear.curvilinear regressionsee curvilinear regression. relationshipswere noted. Confirmatory Data Analysis Having met the various burdens imposed by EDA, we thereafterproceeded to perform our planned confirmatory analyses. Specifically, toassess for main effects by treatment and gender, MANCOVA was utilized asan initial test of differences. Rosenthal and Rosnow (1991) defineMANCOVA as "analysis of covariance CovarianceA measure of the degree to which returns on two risky assets move in tandem. A positive covariance means that asset returns move together. A negative covariance means returns vary inversely. for the situation of multipledependent variables" (p. 563), and endorse its use as a preliminarymultivariate test of differences. In discussing MANOVA and MANCOVAprocedures, Stevens (1996) cautions against grouping all dependentvariables into a single analysis because variables included on anexperimental or heuristic A method of problem solving using exploration and trial and error methods. Heuristic program design provides a framework for solving the problem in contrast with a fixed set of rules (algorithmic) that cannot vary. 1. basis may obscure true differences that existalong other variables. Additionally, because multivariate teststatistics are highly sensitive Adj. 1. highly sensitive - readily affected by various agents; "a highly sensitive explosive is easily exploded by a shock"; "a sensitive colloid is readily coagulated" to error in a system, separatemultivariate analyses are preferred when dependent variables naturallycluster into theoretically related groups. Because the dependentvariables in the present study did cluster into two distinct yet relatedgroups (i.e. anger measures and aggression measures) and because many ofthe aggression variables were being tested on a heuristic basis, twoseparate MANCOVA procedures were performed. Anger Measures MANCOVA A 2 X 2 between subjects multivariate analysis of covariance wasperformed on three dependent variables associated with anger: STAXIState-Anger, Trait-Anger, and Anger-Control. Pre-test scores on each ofthese measures were input as model covariates. Independent variableswere treatment condition (SCARE and Enter Here) and gender (male andfemale). "Gender" was included as an independent variable inthis model in order to enhance statistical power, and was not associatedwith a particular research question of interest. Order of entry ofindependent variables was gender, then treatment condition. Total N was89. Wilk's criterion revealed a significant multivariate effectfor treatment condition, F (3, 80) = 2.96, p = .04., with an effect sizereported at .10. Such findings indicate that the model of combineddependent anger measures was significantly different across SCARE andEnter Here groups, but the overall size of this effect should beconsidered small (Cohen, 1977). Because significance was achieved at the p < .05 level, MANCOVAwas followed by univariate ANCOVA's as post hoc post hoc?adv. & adj.In or of the form of an argument in which one event is asserted to be the cause of a later event simply by virtue of having happened earlier: tests ofdifferences to determine exactly where the differences lie. Rosenthaland Rosnow (1991) describe ANCOVA ANCOVA Analysis of Covariance as essentially an analysis of varianceperformed on a dependent variable that has been corrected for some othervariable (a covariate) that correlates substantially with the dependentvariable. Crowl (1993) recommends the use of ANCOVA for pre-post designsthat employ groups which may not be initially comparable with respect tothe dependent variable. Such univariate analysis investigating wheresuch differences lie revealed that both STAXI State- Anger, F (1, 82) =6.92, p = .01 (?2=.07), and STAXI Trait-Anger F (1, 82) = 4.96, p = .03(?2=.06), were significantly different across treatment conditions. Thatis, at post test STAXI State-Anger was significantly lower in the SCAREgroup (M = 53.12) compared to the Enter Here group (M = 56.11), andSTAXI Trait-Anger was also significantly lower in the SCARE group (M =45.35) compared to the Enter Here group (M = 48.68), although theoverall effect sizes for both of these differences (?2) should still beconsidered small. While the SCARE group did marginally increase theirlevel of Anger-Control from pre to post test, and the Enter Here groupdid experience a slight decrease in Anger- Control, the differencesbetween groups along this anger dimension were found to benon-significant, F (1, 82) = 1.11, p = .29. Aggression Measures MANCOVA A 2 X 2 between subjects multivariate analysis of covariance wasperformed on three dependent variables associated with aggression: theMissouri Peer Relations Inventory-Child (MPRI-C), the Attitude TowardsGuns & Violence Questionnaire (AGVQ), and the SchoolDetention/Referral Records. Pre-test scores on each of these measureswere input as model covariates. Independent variables were treatmentcondition (SCARE and Enter Here) and gender (male and female)."Gender" was again included as an independent variable in thismodel in order to enhance statistical power, and was not associated witha particular research question of interest. Order of entry ofindependent variables was gender, then treatment condition. Total N was89. Wilk's criterion revealed a significant multivariate effect fortreatment condition, F (3, 80) = 3.90, p = .01. The multivariate effectsize for treatment condition was .13. Such a finding indicates that themodel of combined dependent aggression measures was significantlydifferent across SCARE and Enter Here groups, but also that the effectsize was small. Univariate analysis was again utilized to investigate where suchdifferences lie, and in this case revealed that the AGVQ variable wassignificantly different across treatment groups at post test, F (1, 82)= 10.90, p = .00 (?2=.12). Specifically, at post test AGVQ was found tobe significantly lower in the SCARE group (M = 4.37) compared to theEnter Here group (M = 7.36). As indicated by ?2, the effect size forthis difference was small, however. Neither the MPRI-C variable (F [1,82] = .70, p = .40 [?2=.01]) nor the Detention/Referral Records variable(F [1, 82] = .42, p = .51 [?2=.01]) were found to differ significantlyacross treatment conditions. Other Analyses To account for the variable which was excluded from our plannedcomparison because it did not meet various statistical assumptions, aseparate analysis was conducted for the MPRI-P variable. Specifically, a2X2 between subjects ANCOVA was performed, with pre-test scores on theMPRI-P constituting a covariate. Independent variables were treatmentcondition (SCARE and Enter Here) and gender (male and female). Total Nwas 89. In short, main effects were reported as non-significant fortreatment category, F (1, 83) = 00.01, p > .05, indicating that theparental surveys assessing student aggression levels did notsignificantly differ with regard to treatment condition. However, ininterpreting these findings it is important to note that the lowparental response rates on these mailed questionnaires may have greatlyaffected ANCOVA's ability to detect important differences betweengroups. Delayed Follow-Up Analyses Lastly, to assess for the maintenance of treatment effects,follow-up data was collected at one-year following treatment, and wasanalyzed by way of additional graphical and statistical procedures. Dueto the highly itinerant ITINERANT. Travelling or taking a journey. In England there were formerly judges called Justices itinerant, who were sent with commissions into certain counties to try causes. and at-risk nature of the students whoparticipated in this study, only 34 students remained at delayedfollow-up. Because of this notable attrition rate Noun 1. attrition rate - the rate of shrinkage in size or numberrate of attritionrate - a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit; "they traveled at a rate of 55 miles per hour"; "the rate of change was faster than expected" , the previouslydescribed method proposed by Cohen and Cohen (1983) of insertingvariable averages to account for missing data was employed. Thereafter,graphical bar charts were constructed from pre-test, post test, andfollow-up data, and were visually analyzed for each dependant variablepreviously found to be significantly different according to treatmentconditions at post test. Such charts are shown in Figures 2 through 4,and allowed for the visual inspection of data patterning acrossvariables and time. [FIGURES 2-4 OMITTED] To statistically test for between group differences at one-yearfollowing treatment, a separate MANCOVA was conducted for the angervariables in the manner previously described, but with follow-up scoresrepresenting the dependent variable. The omnibus multivariate test ofdifferences at one-year following treatment was found to benon-significant (F [3, 82] = 2.05, p > .05), indicating that in theabsence of booster sessions or follow-up treatment, between groupdifferences on anger measures evaporated over time. With regard to aggression, a separate ANOVA anovasee analysis of variance.ANOVAAnalysis of variance, see there procedure was run totest if groups were significantly different on the AGVQ variable after 1year following treatment. ANOVA revealed that the AGVQ variablecontinued to be significantly different across treatment conditions (F[1, 88] = 4.59, p = .04 [?2=.05]). Specifically, the SCARE group wasfound to be still significantly lower on the AGVQ variable (M = 5.61)compared to the Enter Here Group (M = 7.07). In short, the significantdifference across treatment conditions reflect that SCARE studentscontinued to be significantly less likely to endorse methods of violenceand aggression as a means of settling their conflicts. However, becausethe other aggression variables in this study were subsequently droppeddue to poor psychometric psy��cho��met��rics?n. (used with a sing. verb)The branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude, and performance at post test, further investigationand analyses regarding how other dependent measures of aggression mayhave fluctuated over time was not possible. Discussion While violent crime in the United States Crime in the United States is characterized by relatively high levels of gun violence and homicide, compared to other developed countries although this is explained by the fact that criminals in America are more likely to use firearms. has experienced an overalldecrease in recent years, the arrest rate for violent juvenile crime hasincreased 143 percent since 1967 (USDJ USDJ United States Department of Justice , 1998). Additionally, theNational School Safety Center's (2001) report on school associatedviolent deaths reports that "interpersonal disputes"represented the single greatest factor accounting for the most studentdeaths from 1992 through 2001. Clearly, many school-aged children inAmerica could benefit from instruction regarding ways to better manageaggressive impulses, control hostilities, and defuse potentially hostilesituations. In response to a growing national concern regarding youth violence,the SCARE program (Herrmann & McWhirter, 1994, 2001) has beendeveloped as a tool to help stem the tide of further aggressive acts.This program is an eclectic treatment package developed in conjunctionwith student advice, and specifically focuses on anger management,coping skills, and de-escalation strategies as ways to reduce violenceamong young people. To date, the majority of school programs currentlyin use across the United States aimed at reducing youth violence remaincompletely untested (Hoagwood, 2000). While the SCARE program has beenwell received by administrators, teachers, counselors and psychologistswho have used this program, the experimental validity of the SCAREprogram has not been previously established in a controlled andscientific manner. As such, the purpose of the present study was tosubject the SCARE program to the scrutiny of empirical investigation inorder to determine its relative merits for use in an applied educationalsetting. In short, this study found that at-risk students exposed to theSCARE program had a significantly lower level of STAXI State-Anger andTrait-Anger at post test when compared to control students. This findingis important because one of the major tenants of the SCARE program isaimed at helping adolescents reduce their overall levels and maladaptive MaladaptiveUnsuitable or counterproductive; for example, maladaptive behavior is behavior that is inappropriate to a given situation.Mentioned in: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy expressions of anger. Observed reductions in STAXI State-Anger reflectthat after completing the SCARE program students judged themselves to beconsiderably less angry in the present moment and in response tosituationally determined life events than control group peers. Moreover,reductions in the STAXI Trait-Anger factor also indicate that SCAREstudents were able to make adjustments to their dispositional angermanagement styles and the way they typically manage their angry andhostile emotions. In other words, the observed reduction in STAXITrait-Anger specifically suggests that SCARE students were able toreduce the frequency with which they experience feelings of angertowards others, and were also able to reduce their levels of frustrationwhich often accompanies anger expressions (Speilberger, 1996b). Whilestudents exposed to the SCARE program were not found to maintain theiranger-related treatment gains after one year had elapsed e��lapse?intr.v. e��lapsed, e��laps��ing, e��laps��esTo slip by; pass: Weeks elapsed before we could start renovating.n. sincetreatment, it should be noted that students in this study were notsubjected to periodic booster sessions and follow-up lessons that havebecome standard practice in prevention and intervention protocols.Booster sessions, which are intended to reacquaint students with keyprogram components, help solidify previous learning that has takenplace. Had booster sessions and/or periodic refresher lessons beenprovided to students, it is reasonable to conclude that their angerrelated treatment gains may have been maintained over longer periods oftime. This hypothesis should be investigated further by futureresearchers examining the effectiveness of the SCARE program. Regarding aggression, however, students exposed to the SCAREprogram were found to have significantly less aggressive attitudes atpost test and delayed follow-up as reflected by their AGVQ scores. Suchreflects that the SCARE students continued to judge themselves asconsiderably less aggressive than control students, and that they werealso less likely to embrace violence as a way of expressing theirfrustration. Lower scores on the AGVQ variable also suggest that SCAREstudents were less likely to believe that the shame resulting from beinginsulted can only be undone by means of aggression (Shapiro et al.,1997). Because significant differences were found between groups atdelayed follow-up, the SCARE program appears able to help students makemeaningful and enduring changes by influencing them to become moreadaptable in the way they respond to potentially hostile situations.While the overall differences between treatment groups were consistentlysmall, it is also reasonable to conclude that periodic booster sessionsmay have resulted in even more pronounced treatment effects here aswell. Limitations and Directions for Future Research While the integrity and methodology of this study were notcompromised in any significant way, certain methodological limitationsand challenges were present that deserve special mention. Measurement Limitations Overall, most measures used in this study performed adequately, butthere were two notable exceptions. Namely, the Missouri Peer RelationsInventory [MPRI] and the Detention/Referral Records variable clearly didnot perform up to standards. While the MPRI variable is explicitlylabeled as an experimental scale by the instrument's authors, apersistent pattern of response difficulty noted across our subjectsstrongly suggests that this instrument's limitations exist aboveand beyond that which has been previously described by the authors (seeBlaske et al., 1989). Additionally, with regard to theDetention/Referral Records variable, our poor results on this dependentmeasure appear to have been due to the low incidence ofdetention/referrals reported in our study. Of the 89 subjects whoremained in our subject pool at post test, the overwhelming majoritywent through the entire duration of the study without receiving either areferral or a detention, and those which did occur weredisproportionately scattered across only a few specific students in bothtreatment conditions. In contrast, Sugai et al. (2000) reportedapproximately half of the middle school students in their multi-sitestudy of office discipline referrals received at least one disciplinereferral, and the schools in their study reported receiving an averageof 8.6 discipline referrals per school day. Thus, the Referral/Detentionrecord variable in our study did not discriminate student behaviornearly as well as it seemed to discriminate which teachers were eitherlikely or unlikely to make student discipline referrals at all. As notedby Sugai et al. (2000), an important limitation of using officediscipline referrals in studies like this lies in the unique manner inwhich each school or teacher applies referral procedures. Futureinvestigations would therefore do well to incorporate other behavioralassessment methods that have been found to more reliably discriminateproblem behavior. Methodological Limitations Another possible limitation of the present study was the largereduction of our subject pool from pre-test to follow=up. Because ofattrition and other reductions made to the data set, our original sample(N = 207) was considerably reduced at post test (N = 89). Additionally,the number of subjects who were successfully tracked over the course ofa year following treatment (N = 34) was also attenuated AttenuatedAlive but weakened; an attenuated microorganism can no longer produce disease.Mentioned in: Tuberculin Skin Testattenuatedhaving undergone a process of attenuation. . The primaryreason for this high attrition rate was the at-risk and itinerate i��tin��er��ate?intr.v. i��tin��er��at��ed, i��tin��er��at��ing, i��tin��er��atesTo travel from place to place.[Late Latin itiner natureof the student population who participated in this study. In addition totheir previously noted fragility and proneness to academic andbehavioral problems, the greater majority of these students came fromsocio-economically marginalized backgrounds as well. As such, a largepercentage of them found it necessary to relocate to other cities withtheir families during some part of the school year, or to discontinuegoing to school for other reasons. Often, these students left noforwarding information with school personnel, making it impossible totrack them during and beyond program implementation. Such resulted in ahigh degree of student attrition. While it can be argued that studentssuch as these are the very ones who stand to benefit the most from anintervention such as the SCARE program, the tradeoff is that suchstudents do pose certain limitations on the experimental aspects ofprogram administration. Effect Size Finally, while this study found conclusive evidence CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE. That which cannot be contradicted by any other evidence,; for example, a record, unless impeached for fraud, is conclusive evidence between the parties. 3 Bouv. Inst. n. 3061-62. supporting theSCARE program's ability to lower levels of anger and aggressiveattitudes in student populations, the reported effect sizes for alltreatment gains were interpreted as small according to Cohen'seffect size index (Rosenthal and Rosnow, 1991, p. 444), and Green,Salkind, & Akey's (2000) interpretative in��ter��pre��ta��tive?adj.Variant of interpretive.in��terpre��ta schema for estimatingthe size of effects. However, in interpreting the practical meaning ofsmall effects, Cohen and others have noted that small to medium effectsare very common in social science evaluations, and should not beroutinely dismissed as having little or no clinical significance.Additionally, Light and Pillimer (1984) have noted that most evaluationsin social science and education report only small effect sizes.Rosenthal and Rosnow (1991) have also emphasized that "evenstatistically small effects may be of considerable practicalimportance" (p. 42), and cite several cases in support of thiscontention, including the small effect of aspirin on reducing the riskof heart attacks (r =.03), and for Vietnam military service and alcoholconsumption (r =.07). While the effects reported in the present studycould only be described as small based upon conventional standards, inmany instances they actually exceeded those of several well establishedand clinically important relationships such as those noted above. Theeffect sizes from the present study were also in-line with other programeffects found to be "modest", such as those recently reportedfor the FAST TRACK Program out of Duke University (Crawford, 2002). Conclusions With some of our most thoughtfully constructed prevention programssuch as Drug Abuse Resistance Education The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed.Please see the relevant discussion on the . This article has been tagged since September 2007. (D.A.R.E.) (1983 / 1993)receiving unprecedented scrutiny for producing only minimal or absenttreatment effects (Dukes, Stein, & Ullman, 1997), and otherintervention programs being found to produce possibly harmful effects inthe children they intend to protect (Dishion, McCord & Poulin,1999); the SCARE program seems to represent a welcome addition to theavailable treatment options. Possibly because the SCARE program focuseson all students caught in the web of violence rather than just those atthe upper end of the violence continuum, or possibly because the programis rooted in actual advice and suggestions offered by studentsthemselves; the SCARE program seems able to make meaningful inroads inroadsNoun, plmake inroads into to start affecting or reducing: my gambling has made great inroads into my savingsinroadsnpl to make inroads into [+ where others have failed. On the whole, results of this study demonstrate that the SCAREprogram is a promising prevention/intervention tool that targetsmaladaptive anger and aggressive attitudes in young people. Empiricalevidence supports the efficacy of this program which can be administeredas a school-wide prevention effort, a component of a classroom'slife skills or health education curricula, or an individuallyadministered treatment program delivered to students in one-on-onecounseling sessions. The SCARE program provides teachers, counselors,and psychologists with an easy to follow protocol that makes it possibleto administer the program in a number of different contexts. While thereare no panaceas in the field of prevention and intervention that willmiraculously solve all the problems associated with juvenile violenceand aggression, there are vital pieces to the puzzle that have graduallybegun to emerge. With this analogy in mind, possibly the SCARE programrepresents one of the corner pieces to the puzzle--a pivotal piece fromwhich other segments can be added to and expanded upon. Note: In 2001, the United States Department of Education designatedSCARE as a "promising program", and the USDE USDE United States Department of EducationUSDE Unit of Sustainable Development and Environment (Organization of American States)USDE Undesired Signal Data Emanations Expert Panel onSafe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools recognized SCARE for itsquality, usefulness and educational significance. Readers interested inobtaining a copy of the SCARE program should contact the lead author ofthis study at donher@juvenile.maricopa.gov.Table 1The SCARE ProgramRecognizing Anger and Violence in the CommunityOngoing Anger JournalLesson # 1: Recognizing Anger and ViolenceLesson # 2: Family/Friend TreeManaging and Reducing Anger in the SelfLesson # 3: Internal Responses to AngerLesson # 4: Reducing Arousal Through Positive Self-StatementsLesson # 5: Systematic Deep BreathingLesson # 6: Progressive RelaxationLesson # 7: ExerciseDefusing Anger and Violence in OthersLesson # 8: Creative Alternatives to ViolenceLesson # 9: Paraverbal TechniquesLesson # 10: "I" Instead of "You"Lesson # 11: ReflectionsLesson # 12: Proxemics (Personal Space)Lesson # 13: Kinesics (Body Language)Lesson # 14: Appreciating Diversity (The Hand Clasp Exercise)Lesson # 15: No Violence ContractingTable 2Dependent MeasuresANGER MEASURES Name # of items Source Modality Assessed1) State-Anger 10 STAXI Self-Report2) Trait-Anger 20 STAXI Self-Report3) Anger-Control 8 STAXI Self-ReportAGGRESSION MEASURES Name # of items Source Modality Assessed1) Peer Relations-C 5 MPRI Self-Report2) Peer Relations-P 5 MPRI Parent-Report3) AGVQ 8 AGVQ Self-Report4) Detention Records Sum total Behavioral (Teacher Report)Note. STAXI = State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Speilberger,1991); MPRI = Missouri Peer Relations Inventory (Borduin, Blaske,Treloar, & Mann, 1989); AGVQ = Attitude Towards Guns & Violence(Shapiro, Dorman, Burkey, Welker, & Clough, 1997).Table 3Group Means, Standard Deviations, and Number of Cases By DependentVariable SCARE GROUPVariable Mean S.D. Valid Cases N (avg for missing cases)ATGV(pre) 6.04 3.61 41 42ATGV(post) 4.37 3.39 41 42ATGV(1 year post) 5.61 2.63 14 42Trait(pre) 52.26 11.47 42 42Trait(post) 45.36 11.58 42 42Trait(1 year post) 47.25 6.06 14 42State(pre) 57.36 9.72 42 42State(post) 53.11 6.42 42 42State(1year post) 52.03 3.64 14 42Peer Rel-C (pre) 12.07 3.35 42 42Peer Rel-C (post) 12.26 3.15 41 42Peer Rel-P (pre) 12.90 2.47 13 42Peer Rel-P (post) 12.70 2.47 6 42Detention Rec.(pre) .38 .82 42 42Detention Rec.(post) .40 .86 42 42 ENTER HERE GROUPVariable Mean S.D. Valid Cases N (avg for missing cases)ATGV(pre) 6.74 3.91 47 47ATGV(post) 7.36 4.39 47 47ATGV(1 year post) 7.07 3.32 20 47Trait(pre) 49.09 11.64 47 47Trait(post) 48.68 10.46 47 47Trait(1 year post) 48.22 8.08 20 47State(pre) 56.19 7.26 46 47State(post) 56.11 8.23 47 47State(1year post) 52.81 5.31 20 47Peer Rel-C (pre) 12.89 3.52 47 47Peer Rel-C (post) 13.19 3.41 47 47Peer Rel-P (pre) 13.06 2.35 12 47Peer Rel-P (post) 12.90 1.41 9 47Detention Rec.(pre) .51 .74 39 47Detention Rec.(post) .38 .69 39 47 References Achmon, J., Granek, M., Golomb, M., & Hart, J. (1989).Behavioral treatment of essential hypertension essential hypertensionn.Hypertension without known cause or preexisting renal disease.essential hypertension: A comparison betweencognitive therapy cognitive therapyn.Any of a variety of techniques in psychotherapy that utilize guided self-discovery, imaging, self-instruction, and related forms of elicited cognitions as the principal mode of treatment. and biofeedback biofeedback,method for learning to increase one's ability to control biological responses, such as blood pressure, muscle tension, and heart rate. Sophisticated instruments are often used to measure physiological responses and make them apparent to the patient, who of heart rate. Psychosomatic Medicine psychosomatic medicine(sī'kōsōmăt`ĭk), study and treatment of those emotional disturbances that are manifested as physical disorders. ,51, 152-164. Behrens, J. T., & Smith, M. L. (1996). Data and data analysis.In D. Berliner and B. Calfee (Eds.), The handbook of educationalpsychology. New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Macmillan. Barber, T. X. (1976). Pitfalls in human research: Ten pivotalpoints. Elmsford, NY: Peragom Press. Borduin, C. M., Blaske, D. M., Treloar, L., & Mann, B. J.(1989). Development and validation of a measure of adolescent peerrelations: The Missouri Peer Relations Inventory. Unpublishedmanuscript, University of Missouri, Department of Psychology, Columbia. Blaske, D. M., Borduin, C. M., Henggeler, S. W., & Mann, B. J.(1989). Individual, family, and peer characteristics of adolescent sexoffenders and assaultive as��saul��tive?adj.Inclined to or suggestive of violent attack: "The reduction of cinema to assaultive images ... has produced a disincarnated, lightweight cinema that doesn't demand anyone's full attention"offenders. Developmental Psychology, 25,846-855. Buss, A. H., & Durke, A. (1957). An inventory for assessingdifferent kinds of hostility. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 21,343-349. Cohen, J. (1977). Statistical power analysis for the behavioralsciences behavioral sciences,n.pl those sciences devoted to the study of human and animal behavior. . New York: Academic Press. Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied Multiple Regression /Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2nd Ed. New York:Erlbaum. Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1992). A developmentaland clinical model for the prevention of conduct disorders: The FASTTrack Program. Development and Psychopathology psychopathology/psy��cho��pa��thol��o��gy/ (-pah-thol��ah-je)1. the branch of medicine dealing with the causes and processes of mental disorders.2. abnormal, maladaptive behavior or mental activity. , 4, 509-527. Corder, B. F., Whiteside, R., & Haizlip, T. (1986).Biofeedback, cognitive training and relaxation techniques as multimodaladjunct therapy for hospitalized adolescents: A pilot study.Adolescence, 21 (82), 339-346. Crawford, N. (2002). Science-based program curbs violence in kids.American Psychological Association Monitor, 33 (10), 38. Crowl, T. K. (1993). Fundamentals of educational research. Madison,WI: Brown & Benchmark. D.A.R.E. America (1983/1993). Drug Abuse Resistance Education(D.A.R.E. program). Los Angeles Los Angeles(lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , CA: D.A.R.E America. Deffenbacher, J. L., Lynch, R. S., Oetting, E. R., & Kemper, C.C. (1996) Anger reduction in early adolescents. Journal of CounselingPsychology, 43 (2), 149-157. Deffenbacher, J. L., McNamara, K., Stark, R. S., & Sabadell, P.M. (1990). A comparison of cognitive-behavioral and process orientedgroup counseling for general anger reduction. Journal of Counseling andDevelopment, 69, 167-172. Dishion, T.J., McCord, J., & Poulin, F. (1999). Wheninterventions harm: Peer groups and problem behavior. The AmericanPsychologist, 54 (9), 755-764. Dukes, R. L., Stein, J. A., & Ullman, J. B. (1997). Long termimpact of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.): Results of a6-year follow-up. Evaluation Review, 21 (4), 483-500. Enter Here, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control (1996). Enter Here! Vocational guidance video tapeseries. Evanston, II: American Guidance Service. Farrington, D. P. (1983). Offending from 10 to 25 years of age. InK. T. Van Dusen & S. A. Mednick (Eds.), Prospective studies of crimeand delinquency (pp. 17 - 37). Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff. Farrington, D. P., Gallagher, B., Morley, L., & St. Ledger, R.J. (1986). Cambridge study in delinquent development: Long termfollow-up. Unpublished annual report, Cambridge University Cambridge University,at Cambridge, England, one of the oldest English-language universities in the world. Originating in the early 12th cent. (legend places its origin even earlier than that of Oxford Univ. Institute ofCriminology criminology,the study of crime, society's response to it, and its prevention, including examination of the environmental, hereditary, or psychological causes of crime, modes of criminal investigation and conviction, and the efficacy of punishment or correction (see , Cambridge, England. Feindler, E. L. (1995). Ideal treatment package for children andadolescents with anger disorders. In H. Kassinove (Ed.), Angerdisorders: Definition, diagnosis, and treatment (pp. 173 - 196).Washington, DC: Taylor Francis. Gelles, R. J. & Straus, M.A. (1988). Intimate violence: Thecauses and consequences of abuse in the American family. New York: Simon& Schuster/Touchstone. Graham, S., Hudley, C., & Williams, E. (1992). Attributionaland emotional determinants of aggression among African-American andLatino young adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 28, (4) 731-740. Green, S.B., Salkind, N.J., & Akey, T.M. (2000). Using SPSS A statistical package from SPSS, Inc., Chicago (www.spss.com) that runs on PCs, most mainframes and minis and is used extensively in marketing research. It provides over 50 statistical processes, including regression analysis, correlation and analysis of variance. forWindows: Analyzing and understanding data (2nd). New Jersey: PrenticeHall Prentice Hall is a leading educational publisher. It is an imprint of Pearson Education, Inc., based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6-12 and higher education market. HistoryIn 1913, law professor Dr. . Greenwood, P. W. (1994). What works with juvenile offenders: Asynthesis of the literature and experience. Federal Probation The Federal Probation Service or United States Probation Service is an agency that services the United States District Court in all 94 judicial federal districts nationwide and constitutes the community corrections arm of the Federal Court System. , 58 (4),63-67. Grossman, D., & DeGaetano, G. (1999). Stop teaching our kids tokill: A call to action against TV, movie & video game violence. NewYork: Crown Publishers. Hains, A. A., & Ellmann, S. W. (1994). Stress inoculationtraining as a preventative intervention for high school youths. Journalof Cognitive Psychotherapy psychotherapy,treatment of mental and emotional disorders using psychological methods. Psychotherapy, thus, does not include physiological interventions, such as drug therapy or electroconvulsive therapy, although it may be used in combination with such methods. , 8 (3), 219-232. Hathaway, S. R., & McKinley, J. C. (1942). The MinnesotaMultiphasic Personality Inventory. Minnesota: University of MinnesotaPress The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. External linkUniversity of Minnesota Press . Henggeler, S. W., Watson, S. M., & Whelan, J. P. (1990). Peerrelations of hearing impaired adolescents. Journal of Pediatric pediatric/pe��di��at��ric/ (pe?de-at��rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe��di��at��ricadj.Of or relating to pediatrics. Psychology, 15, 721-731. Herrmann, D. S., & McWhirter, J. J. (1994). The SCARE program:Reducing anger and violence through education. Phoenix, AZ: ArizonaState University College of Education. Herrmann, D. S., & McWhirter, J. J. (2001). The SCARE program:Student created aggression replacement education. Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque is a city in the U.S. State of Iowa, located along the Mississippi River. Its population was estimated at 57,696 in 2006,[3] making it the eighth-largest city in the state. : KendallHunt Publishing Company. Hoagwood, K. (2000). Research on youth violence: Progress byreplacement, not addition. Journal of Emotional and BehavioralDisorders, 8 (2), 67-70. Katz, J. (1988). Seductions of crime: Moral and sensual attractionsto doing evil. New York: Basic Books. Leonard, K. E., & Blane, J. T. (1992). Alcohol and maritalaggression in a national sample of young men. Journal of InterpersonalViolence, 7, 19-30. Light, R., & Pillimer, D. (1984). Summing up: The science ofreviewing research. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press The Harvard University Press is a publishing house, a division of Harvard University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. It was established on January 13, 1913. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. . Loeber, R. (1982). The stability of antisocial and delinquent childbehavior: A review. Child Development, 53, 1531-1446. Lore, R. K., & Schultz, L. A. (1993). Control of humanaggression: A comparative perspective. American Psychologist, 48 (1),16-25. Lyon, J. M., Henggeler, S., & Hall, J. A. (1992). The familyrelations, peer relations, and criminal activities of Caucasian andHispanic-American gang members. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,20, 439-449. Mardia, K. V. (1971). The effect of nonnormality on somemultivariate tests and robustness to nonnormality in the linear model.Biometrika, 58 (1), 105-121. McWhirter, J. J., Herrmann, D. S., Jefferys, K., & Quinn, M. M.(1997). Tools for violence prevention. Catholic School Studies, 70 (1),15-19. McWhirter, J. J., McWhirter, B. T., McWhirter, A. M., &McWhirter, E. H. (1998). At-risk youth: A comprehensive response. (2nd).New York: Brooks-Cole. Michenbaum, D. (1972). Clinical implications of modifying whatclients say to themselves. Research Reports in Psychology, 42,University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (also referred to as UW, UWaterloo, or Waterloo) is a medium-sized research-intensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957. , Waterloo, Ontario Coordinates: Waterloo is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the larger city of Kitchener. . Moon, J. R., & Eisler, R. M. (1983). Anger control: Anexperimental comparison of three behavioral treatments. BehaviorTherapy behavior therapyor behavior modification,in psychology, treatment of human behavioral disorders through the reinforcement of acceptable behavior and suppression of undesirable behavior. , 14, 493-505. National School Safety Center (2001). National school safetycenter's report on school associated violent deaths, [On-Line].Available: http://www.nssc1.org/ Novoco, R. W. (1975). Anger control. The development and evaluationof an experimental treatment. Lexington, MA: Heath. Novoco, R. W. (1979). The cognitive regulation of anger and stress.In P. C. Kendall & S. D. Hollan (Eds.), Cognitive-behavioralinterventions: Theory, research, and procedures (pp. 241-285). New York:Academic Press. Pan, H. S., Neidig, P. H., & O'Leary, K. H. (1994).Predicting mild and severe husband-to-wife physical aggression. Journalof Consulting and Clinical Psychology The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (JCCP) is a bimonthly psychology journal of the American Psychological Association. Its focus is on treatment and prevention in all areas of clinical and clinical-health psychology and especially on topics that appeal to a broad , 62, 975-981. Rosenthal, R., & Rosnow, R. L. (1991). Essentials of behavioralresearch: Methods of data analysis (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Schlichter, K. J., & Horan, J. J. (1981). Effects of stressinoculation on the aggression management skills of institutionalized in��sti��tu��tion��al��ize?tr.v. in��sti��tu��tion��al��ized, in��sti��tu��tion��al��iz��ing, in��sti��tu��tion��al��iz��es1. a. To make into, treat as, or give the character of an institution to.b. juvenile delinquents. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 5, 359-365. Shapiro, J. P. (2000). Attitudes towards guns and violencequestionnaire: AGVQ. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services. Shapiro, J. P., Dorman, R. L., Burkey, W. M., Welker, C. J., &Clough, J. P. (1997). Development and factor analysis of a measure ofyouth attitudes towards guns and violence. Journal of Clinical ChildPsychology, 26 (3), 311-320. Speilberger, C. D. (1996a). State-trait anger expression inventory:Revised research edition. PAR: Odessa, Florida Odessa is a census-designated place located partially in Pasco County, Florida and partially in Hillsborough County, Florida. The population was 3,173 at the 2000 census. HistoryOdessa has a rich and varied history. . Speilberger, C. D. (1996b). State-trait anger expression inventory:STAXI professional manual. PAR: Odessa, Florida. Steiner, H., & Stone, L.A. (1999). Introduction: Violence andrelated psychopathology. Journal of the American Academy of Child andAdolescent Psychiatry A branch of psychiatry that specialises in work with children, teenagers, and their families. HistoryAn important antecedent to the specialty of child psychiatry was the social recognition of childhood as a special phase of life with its own developmental stages, starting with , 38, 232-234. Stevens, J. (1996). Applied multivariate statistics for the socialsciences (3rd edition). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. Sugai, G., Sprague, J. R., Horner, R., H., & Walker, H. M.(2000). Preventing school violence: The use of office disciplinereferrals to assess and monitor school-wide discipline interventions.Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 8 (2), 94-101. Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariatestatistics (3rd Edition). New York: HarperCollins. Tremblay, R. E., Masse, L. C., Pagani, L., & Vitaro, F. (1996).From childhood physical aggression to adolescent maladjustment maladjustment/mal��ad��just��ment/ (mal?ah-just��ment) in psychiatry, defective adaptation to the environment. mal��ad��just��mentn.1. Faulty or inadequate adjustment.2. : TheMontreal prevention experiment. In R. Dec. Peters & R. J. McMahon(Eds.), Preventing childhood disorders, substance abuse and delinquency(pp. 268-298). Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks,residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , CA: Sage. Tukey, J. (1977). Exploratory data analysis. Reading, MA:Addison-Wesley. United States Department of Education (2000). Indicators of schoolcrime and safety 2000 (NCES NCES National Center for Education StatisticsNCES Net-Centric Enterprise Services (US DoD)NCES Network Centric Enterprise ServicesNCES Net Condition Event Systems 2001-017/NCJ-184176). Washington D.C.: U.S.Government Printing Office. United States Department of Justice (2001). Crime and victimization victimizationSocial medicine The abuse of the disenfranchised–eg, those underage, elderly, ♀, mentally retarded, illegal aliens, or other, by coercing them into illegal activities–eg, drug trade, pornography, prostitution. statistics: National crime victimization survey [On-line]. Available:http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm United States Department of Justice. (1998). Uniform crime reportsfor the United States. Washington, D. C.: U.S. Government PrintingOffice. Wilcox, D., & Dowrick, P. W. (1992). Anger management withadolescents. Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, 9 (3), 29-39. D. Scott Herrmann, Ph.D. Superior Court of Arizona Juvenile Probation Department J. Jeffries McWhirter, Ph.D., ABPP ABPP American Board of Professional PsychologyABPP American Battlefield Protection ProgramABPP Agile Business Process Platform (I2 Technologies)ABPP Activity-Based Protein Profiling Arizona State University Correspondence to: D. Scott Herrmann, Ph.D., Superior Court ofArizona, Juvenile Probation Department, 3125 West Durango, Phoenix, AZ85009. donher@juvenile.maricopa.gov